Machine for slushing sheets of pulp



*W 1935 W. T. DOYLE El AL MACHINE FOR SLUSHING SHEETS OF PULP Filed June26, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet l Aprfl 3Q, 1935. w. T. DOYLE El AL MACHINE FORSLUSHING SHEETS OF PULP 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1954 LQQQAUZApril w, H9353.

W. T. DOYLE ET AL MACHINE FOR SLUSHING SHEETS OF PULP Filed June 26,1934' 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 A lrfifl 3U, fj-is w. T. DOYLE ET AL MACHINE FORSLUSHING S HEETS OF PULP 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 26, 1934 AWITH W35.w. T. DOYLE EI'AL 1,999,402

MACHINE FOR SLUSHING SHEETS OF PULP Filed June 26, 1934 6 Sheets-Sheet 5W 3(1), W. T. DOYLE ET AL 1,999,402

MACHINE FOR SLUSHING SHEETS OF PULP Filed June 26, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Patented Apr. 30, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 26,1934,. Serial No. 732,454

11 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for slushing sheets'of pulp inwaterto produce an aqueous pulp suspensionintendedfor such purposes-aspapermak-ing. It dealsmore particularly with an improved machine of thetype disclosed in Doyle Patent No. 1,910,382, dated May 23,l933,'wherein the improvements generally include accurate guidingand.morepositivefeeding of a succession of sheets in the form of balesto a rotary -hammer mill wherein they are reduced in the presence ofwater to form the aqueous pulp-suspensiorninore positive intake of thesuccessive sheets one by one into the mill, adjustability', or" partsfor sheets of different-sizes, bet'teraccessibility to andeasierreplaceability of internal parts ofthe mill,and.readycontrollability ofthe volume'of water supplied to the sheets so as to permit ofthe'production of an aqueous pulp suspension of the desired stockdensity or consistency.

With the foregoing .and. other improvements and objects in view, thepresent invention will nowhe described in greaterxdetail with referenceto. the accompanying drawings, wherein:- .qFigure 1 represents aside-elevation of. the ma chineas. a whole.

Figure 2 represents-a rear endelevation of-the machine.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse section throughtherotary hammer milland parts adjacent thereto.

Figure 5 is, an enlarged plan section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 isan enlarged fragmentary section through a sectionof the millcasingon the line 6-6 of, Figure 4-,:the lining of the ;casing beingremoved for the sake of clarity.

Figure '7 represents an enlargedside elevation of a guide. partition forthe bales of sheetswas they'are. being fed to-the hammer mill.

Figure 8 is a section on theline 3-8 of Figure F1.

Figure 9 represents an-enlarged side elevation of that part oftheharnmer mill hcusingat which the water-control means is located.

Figure '10 is a section on the .line-iil i of Figure 9. v

Figure '11 is a section on the line -H--H of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a plan view of thewhammeranill rotor, some of; the hammersbeingomitted for the sakezof clarity.

Figure l3 depicts a development of apreferred hammer anill rotor; so asto .show the relative po sitions of the various hammer elements ontherotor.

vReferring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, 10 represents an endlessconveyor arransed-to-move at a slight incline .to the horizontal andonto whichthe bales. of pulp sheets may be deposited with the sheetsinupstanding relationship. .-As shown,, awhole bale I i. may betransferred to the conveyor by suitabletongs -l2-forming part ofhoisting mechanism (not shown) The conveyor it comprises a plurality ofchains passing over end sprockets l 3, the lower sprocket of .which maybe driven as will presently be described. The conveyor it may comprisetwo spaced chains, eachchain of which passes overthe sprocketsJB andbetween the links of which mayextendtransversely-a plurality of slats.(not shown)- presenting flat upper faces on whichthe bales I l rest.Immediately below the upper stretch of the G011.- veyor i6 is,asbestshown in Figure .3, preferablyhprovided a supporting table !4which serves .toprevent sagging of the conveyor'under load. .Adjacenttothe side edges of the conveyor-l0 are also preferably provided guiderails l5 which define a runway of progressively diminishing Width towardthe lower. end of the conveyor, wherefore; no particular attention need.be given to the placement of thetbalespn the conveyor, since the balesare properly guidedby the rails to the lower or discharge end of theconveyor.

The conveyor 55, which is the primary one, delivers the bales onto asecondary conveyor; 15 which serves to carry the bales into. the intakeof the hammer mill. Thesecondary conveyor 16 also moves-at aslightangleto the horizontal but the upper, end of its upper stretch isslightly below the lower'endot the upper stretch of: the primaryconveyor 1 9 so that the :bales will drop sligh ly as they aredischarged from the primary conveyor .ontothe secondary-one; Inordersthat the bales may be positively-and v uniformlyied into theintakeof the hammer mill, the links of the chains comprising thesecondary conveyor are preferably .providedwith teeth or spikes .Hwhich, under the Weight of the bales, tend to bite into the bales underload by a supportingtablell locatedimmediately thereunder. The drive forboth conveyors may. include. a motor 2fl'which, through a .belt 11,drives a pulley.22, whose. shaft isigeared to suitable gear-reducingmechanism in a box 23 from which the desired motive power may betransmitted through a chain as to the shaft of the lower sprocket it ofthe primary conveyor and through a chain 25 to the shaft of the lowersprocket l8 of the secondary conveyor. For smooth and efiicientoperation of the machine, it is necessary that the bales be in closecontacting relationship and thus enter as a continuous succession ofsheets into the hammer mill. Ac-

cordingly, the primary conveyor is driven at a slightly greater rate ofspeed than the secondary conveyor, any space left between two balesdeposited on the first conveyor being eliminated before they reach thesecondary slower moving ,conveyor which is constantly kept fully loadedwith bales, as shown in Figure 1. No difiiculty is had in dischargingthe bales from the primary conveyor onto the secondary one by reason ofthe smooth supporting surface presented by the primary conveyor, theprimary conveyor simply slipping under rthe bales as they drop therefromonto the spiked supporting surface of the secondary conveyor.

As the bales are being fed into the intake of the hammer mill, they arekept from lateral displacement by guide partitions 26 upstanding at thesides of the secondary conveyor and secured to the frame 2? defining theintake of the hammer mill. In order that bales of various widths may beheld in proper alignment for feeding into the intake of the hammer mill,the partitions 26 are secured by bolts 23 to the frame 2?, the shanks ofthe bolts passing through slots 29 in a flange portion 2M of the frame21, wherefore, when the bolts are loosened, lateral adjustment of thepartitions 2% is possible. The partitions 26 include flange portions 25awhich are normally held by the bolts 28 in abutting relationship withthe flange portion Z'ia of the frame 2?.

It is desirable to stop the sheets constituting the bales from fallinginto the hammer mill when running of the machine is stopped, as thismakes for restarting of the rotor of the hammer mill under light load.Otherwise, difficulty might be had in restarting the rotor of the hammermill, since the load or resistance imposed by sheets present therein isa heavy one. To this end, suitable stops for the sheets may be placed intheir path when running of the hammer mill is to be stopped. As bestshown in Figures 7' and 8, the

stops for the sheets are put into play by the operator from outside thepartitions 2E. The sheetstopping mechanism shown in these figuresincludes a bell crank lever operating in a vertical [plane andcomprising a weighted horizontal oper ating arm 38 and a vertical arm 3!pivotally secured to a bracket 32 on the outside of the partition 25.Fastened to the vertical arm 3! through a link 33 is a bell crank leveroperating in a horizontal plane and comprising a transversely extendingarm 3 3 and a longitudinally extending arm 35 entering into the intakeof the hammer mill. The arms 34 and 35 are pivotally secured to abracket 35 located on the outside of the corner defined by the partition26 and its flange portion 26a, the arm 35 passing through a slot formedin the flange portion 26a. The inner end the sheets may be had by movingoutwardly a weight 36 slidably supported on the arm 38, the

effect of which movement is to cause the blade 35a to move transverselyinwardly, as indicated in dotted outline in Figure 8, into the path ofthe oncoming succession of sheets and thus to arrest their progress.

The bales are forced from the lower end of the secondary conveyor onto ashelf 31 constituting the bottom of the hammer mill intake. The top ofthe hammer mill intake is afforded by a plate 38 secured to a verticallyadjustable beam 3.). Aside from the possible function of the plate 38 inbearing down upon and sealing, if desired, the tops of the bales, itserves as a breaker plate for the sheets or sheet fragments, its inneredge 38a being sharp and determining the size of stock particle orfragment that can be swept or carried freely past such edge into thehammer mill casing. By providing a proper clearance between the inneredge 38a and the rotor of the hammer mill it is possible to control thesize of stock particles or fragments being carried into the casing so asto ensure smooth running action of the rotor. The amount of stockentering into the hammer mill is necessarily determined by the rate atwhich the sheets are being fed by the conveyors, but the plate 38determines the extent to which the stock must be comminuted ordisintegrated before it can escape past the inner edge 38a into thecasing of the hammer mill wherein disintegration of the stock iscompleted to produce the desired kind of aqueous pulp suspension. Thedesired clearance between the inner edge 38a and the rotor of the hammermill may be had by a vertical adjustment of the beam 39 to which theplate 38 is secured as by bolts 40. The adjusting means shown for thispurpose includes, as best shown in Figures 2 and 4, a pair of worms on aworm shaft it, each worm of which meshes with a worm gear 42 on avertical shaft 43 whose lower end portion 13a is in threaded engagementwith a nut M secured to the upper face of the beam 39. The beam 39 isvertically slidable in suitable ways H1 in the frame 21. A suitablebracket 46 affording the necessary bearings for the worm shaft ll andthe shaft 43 may be secured to the upper face of a girder 45, which, asbest shown in Figure 4, forms part of the housing for the hammer mill.It is thus seen that by affixing a removable hand-wheel 4i, shown indotted outline in Figure l, to an end of the worm shaft M and turningit, it is possible to effect a raising or lowering of the beam 38 andthe desired adjustment of the breaker plate 38.

The hammer mill casing includes an arcuate section 48 equipped with atransversely ribbed lining 49 serving as the brushing plate againstwhich the stock is disintegrated and abraded as it passes through themill. Located at the front edge of the section 48 is shown a plate 50which functions to supplement the action of the inner edge 38a of theplate 38 in that it determines the extent to which the stock must bedisintegrated before it proceeds into the brushing zone of the hammermill casing. The plate 38 may thus be considered as the primary breakerplate against which 7 the stock must be preliminarily disintegratedbefore it can enter intothe hammer mill casing; and the plate 58constitutes a secondary breaker plate which ensures the desireddisintegration of the stock before it proceeds into the brushing zone ofthe hammer mill casing. Once the stock has entered into the brushingzone of the hammer mill casing, it undergoes the brushing action of thehammers as they sweep past the ribs 'of the lining 49, the hammerseither 0f the arrow at impinges, as shown in Figure 3, against the frontfaces of the sheets as they confront the rotor of the hammer mill. Thewater thus supplied to the front faces of the sheets completes the workof soaking and softening the sheets so that they may be reduced by theaction of the hammer mill rotor into a pulp suspension. The wateremanating from the spray pipe 9 in the direction of the arrow I) simplyserves the function of a vehicle or carrier to promote a washing of thedisintegrated or slushed pulp upwardly past the two breaker plates intothe hammer mill casing. Inasmuch as most of the water is supplied to themachine by way of the spray pipe 9s, it is desirable that the volume ofwater delivered through this pipe be subject to easy control, as thismeans that the consistency of the pulp suspension delivered by themachine may be kept at a desired value that can be realized irrespectiveof the rate of feed of sheets by the conveyors. Accordingly, means areprovided to vary the size of the spray openings in the pipe 94. As bestshown in Figures 10 and 11, the spray pipe 9d comprises a perforatedouter pipe within which is journalled for rotation an inner pipe 536having perforations which may be brought in registry to a greater orless degree with the corresponding perforations in the pipe 35. Rotationof the inner pipe 9% to effect the desired valve action is realized by ashaft 9'? whose inner end portion 98 is a tongue element keyed into acorresponding slot at one end of the pipe 95. The shaft 91 is journalledfor rotation in a bearing member 99 bolted to the end of the pipe 95 andpasses out through the side wall 2 of the housing by way of a bearingmember 166 suitably secured to such side wall. The outer end portion ofthe shaft 91 has aiiixed thereto a handle iii! which may be manipulatedby the operator to 'effect the desired degree of registry of theopenings in the pipes 95 and 96. The handle lili preferably has a pinH32 afiixed thereto and passing through an arcuate guide slot ina memberI03 to which the handle may be secured by means of'a winged nut 04 inthreaded engagement with that portion of the pin i812 projecting beyondthe outer surface of the member H33. Accordin ly, when the handle iii!has been moved to a position consonant with the desired volumetricdelivery of water through the spray pipe E i, it may be fixed inposition until a change in the volumetric delivery of water through suchspray pipe is desired. From the construction of the spray pipe 94 thusfar described, it will be seen that one end of this spray pipe issupported by the shaft 91. The other end of the spray pipe is fastenedto a coupling which couples such spray pipe to a dead-end pipe portionHi6 passing through a journal Hi7 secured to the side wall of thehousing 52 in the same way as the journal iii. A removable cap [93serves to close off the pipe I 06, the cap being removed when cloggingoccurs in the spray pipe 84 so as to necessitate its cleaning.

The water delivered by way of the pipe 88 into the trough H accumulatesas a pool or pocket in such trough. There is a tendency for chunks orundisintegrated portions of the sheets to accumulate just beyond theshelf 3?. These chunks tend to fall into the trough H and, under thesoaking action of the water present therein, disintegrates so that therotor of the hammer mill can sweep the resulting stock upwardly past thebreaker plates into the hammer mill casing. The trough H also serves thefunction of a trap, re-

taming wire, tramp iron, or similar adventitious material that gets intothe hammer mill and, un:

less removed, might cause undue wear or injury to the, hammers,discharge section, or other ham.- mer mill parts. in the trough ll maybe removed by opening a door or cover I09 with which it is provided, asbest shown in Figure 4.

The rotor of the hammer mill is constructed generally as describedin-the patent to which reference has already been made, but there arefeatures of novelty therein to which attention will be directed. Asshown in Figure 12, the rotor comprises end plates l M equipped withtrunnions HI which pass through suitable bearings H2 on each side of thehammer mill housing. One of the trunnions is shown provided with a keyslot H3 for receiving the key of a pulley by which the rotor may bedriven from a motor or other suitable source of power. Assembled inbetween the end plates iii of the rotor are a succession of arms 9,these arms being keyed to the rotor shaft H4, as best shown in Figure 4Each two adjacent arms are, as best shown in Figure 4, arranged at rightangles to each other and serve as means for supporting the hammerelements 3 of the rotor. The hammer elements, only a few of which areshown in Figure 12, are pivotally mounted on a rod i l5 which passesthrough the aligned arms near each outer edge of such arms, there beinga hammer element between each such pair of aligned arms. There are hencefour such rods H5 for the entire rotor. Each rod H5 enters partly intoan opening formed in each end plate lit, the opening being clear throughthe end plate and being tapered at its extremity so that a tapered plugH6 may be fitted thereinto for preventing lateral movement of the rod H5and the hammers mounted thereon. Access to the plug H6 for its removalmay be had through an opening ill in the side wall 52 of the hammer millhousing, when it is desired to renew the hammers. The opening In, whichis normally plugged, is in line with the circumference of the circlegenerated by the plug EH5, so that by bringing the plug H6 in alignmentwith the opening I H it is possible to remove quickly the plug M6, therod H5, and the series of hammer elements mounted thereon. Located inbetween a plurality of arms 9, say, between groups or seven, are disksH8 which extend beyond the ends of the arms and which serve to keep thesheets of pulp as they are presented to the rotor from falling into thehammer mill casing. These disks are keyed to the shaft H4,

The undesirable accumulations as are the arms, and are looked as a solidassembly with the arms by a plurality of rods E E9 having threaded endspassing through the end plates HE! and secured thereto by nuts 29. Asidefrom the function of the disks H8 in keeping the sheets from fallinginto the hammer mill, they serve the function of gripping each sheet asit presents itself to the hammer mill rotor and feeding it past thebreaker plates where disintegration occurs so that feeding of the stockinto the hammer mill can ensue. each disk H8 has afiixed thereto apointed or toothed element 12! which protrudes beyond the edge of thedisks so that it can dig into the face of a sheet presented to the disksand carry it upwardly against the breaker plates. In this connection, itis to be observed that the hammer elements 3 project only slightlybeyond the edges of the disks 5 i8 and that, as they strike the frontsheet, tend to recede inwardly so as to permit 65 To thisend,

.vthe:pointed elements I2 I, to: grip .the front sheetandzcarryjitj.upwardly. against the'breaker plates. aOnceithexhammeraelements:have moved out of contact-:withthe. front: sheet ofthe bales, they :1 ssagainsswing outwardly: beyond the edgesof the.disks I lfloto effect the idesireddisintegrating actionon-thechunks of.pulp near-the breaker plates .and the --.desiredabrushing:action on the.stock .thatahasentered into thehammer millcasing and isbeingicarriedpast the-ribbed lining is of the section 48.x The;.slushed stock isdischarged through .therforaminous section so into a tank I22 from whichit: may: be removed by a centrif .ugaltpump- I23 and'delivered to aJordan, beater, ordirectly to the paper-making machinevat, if desired. rApreferred arrangement ofhammers and disks .for =thehammer mill rotor isillustrated in Figure -13 aslae' development of the arrangement. It will.be .observed that :accordingto the arrangement .the-hammers 8- arestaggered throughout the rotor periphery in such a Way as to ensurecontact of the .hazmmers with -,substantially all the stock iaxiallyl ofthezhammer mill ina :singlerevolution of'the rotor.

-- We claim&-

"1. The combination with a rotaryhammer mill rhaving anintake opening onone side into which .balescf pulp-sheets may be progressively fed and-.having discharge. openings: on its .opposite side, and means' forwetting down said bales .with --Water at said-intake opening, of aprimary endless conveyor having a-smooth supporting surface on. whichsaid bales may be placed, and a .secondary endless-'conveyorhaving aspiked supporting .surfa'cetonto which said bales are fed by said'pri-marycconveyor. and which "discharges said bales into said intakeopening, both said conveyors being arranged end to end and at an angleto the horizontal with the receiving end of the secondary conveyorslightly lower than the discharge end of the primary conveyor.

2. The combination with a rotary hammer mill having an intake opening onone side into which bales of pulp sheets may be progressively fed andhaving discharge openings on its opposite side, and means for wettingdown said bales with water at said intake opening, of a primary endlessconveyor having a smooth supporting surface on which said bales may beplaced, a secondary endless conveyor having a spiked sup porting surfaceonto which said bales are fed by said primary conveyor and whichdischarges said bales into said intake opening, both said conveyorsbeing arranged end to end and at an angle to the horizontal with thereceiving end of the secondary conveyor slightly lower than thedischarge end of the primary conveyor, and means for moving said primaryconveyor at a rate of speed greater than that of the secondary conveyor.

3. The combination with a rotary hammer mill having an intake opening onone side into which bales of pulp sheets may be progressively fed andhaving discharge openings on opposite side,

and means for wetting said bales with water at said intake openingof aprimary endless conveyor having a smooth upper surface on which saidbales may be placed, guide rails at the sides of said conveyorconverging toward the discharge end of said conveyor, a secondaryendless conveyor having a spiked supporting surface onto which saidbales are fed by said primary conveyor and which discharges said balesinto said intake opening, partitions at the sides of said secondaryconveyor for guiding said bales in alignment into said intake opening,.-both said conveyors being arranged end to end and at an angle to thehorizontal with the receiving end .of the secondary-conveyor slightlylower than.

the discharge end of the primary conveyor, and means for moving saidprimary conveyor :at a rate of speed greater than that of the secondaryconveyor.

4. The combination with a rotary hammer mill having an intake opening onone side into which bales of pulp sheetsmay. be progressively fed and.having discharge openings'on its opposite side, and means for wettingdown said bales with water at intake opening, of a primary endlessconveyor having a smooth upper surface on which said bales may beplaced, a secondary endless conveyor hating a spiked supporting surfaceonto which said bales are fed by said primary conveyor and whichdischarges said bales into said intake opening, partitions at the sidesof said secondary conveyor for guiding said bales in alignment into saidintake opening, both said conveyors being arranged end to end and, at anangle to the horizontal with the receiving end of the secondary conveyorslightly lower than the "discharge end of the primary conveyor, meansfor moving said primary conveyor at.a

rate of speed greaterthan thatof the secondary conveyor, and meansmanually operative :from outside said partitions forholding. back :thepulp sheets at said intake openingrupon stoppage of said conveyors.

5. The combination with a rotaryv hammer mill equipped with ahammer-carrying rotor and a casing for-said rotorhaving anintake-opening on onesicleinto which balesof: pulp sheets may beprogressively fed in upstanding relationshipziand having dischargeopenings on its opposite side, of a primary breaker plate defining thetop of said intake opening and projecting toward the the rotor, asecondary breaker plate spaced beyond said primary one and projectingtoward the rotor, and water-spraying means located between said platesand capable of delivering a water spray onto said rotor.

6. The combination witha rotary hammer mill equipped with ahammer-carrying rotor and a casing for said rotor having an intakeopening on one side into which bales of pulp sheets may be progressivelyfed in upstanding relationship and having discharge openings on itsopposite side, of a shelf defining the bottom of said intake opening onwhich said bales are supported, water-spraying means located in saidcasing inwardly beyond and below said shelf and capable of delivering awater spray against the front face of said bales, a trough locatedinwardly beyond and below said water-spraying means, and means fordelivering water into said trough.

7. The combination with a rotary hammer mill equipped with ahammer-carrying rotor and a casing for said rotor having an intakeopening on one side into which bales of pulp sheets may be progressivelyfed in upstanding relationship and having discharge openings on itsopposite side, of a shelf defining the bottom of said intake opening onwhich said bales are supported, water-spraying means located in saidcasing inwardly beyond and below said shelf and capable of delivering awater spray against the front face of said bales, said water-sprayingmeans comprising a perforated outer tube and a perforated inner tube,and means on the outside of said casing for causing the rotation of saidinner tube to bring its perforations into greater or less registry withthe perforations in said outer tube.

8. A rotory hammer mill equipped with a hammer-carrying rotor and acasing for said rotor having an intake opening on one side into whichbales of pulp sheets may be progressively fed and having dischargeopenings on its opposite side, said rotor comprising end plates, asuccession of arms, a rod passing through said arms, hammer elementspivotally mounted on said rod in between said arms, said rod enteringpart way into openings formed through said end plates, plugs fitted intosaid end-plate openings and holding said rod and the hammer elementsmounted thereon against end movement, each side of said casing having anopening therethrough in alignment with the circumference of the circlegenerated by said rod upon the rotation of said rotor, and a removableclosure for said last-named opening.

9. A rotary hammer mill equipped with a hammer-carrying rotor and acasing for said rotor having an intake opening on one side into whichbales of pulp sheets may be progressively fed in upstanding relationshipand having discharge openings on its opposite side, said rotorcomprising a succession of arms, a rod passing through said arms, hammerelements pivotally mounted on said rod in between said arms, a series ofdisks in between groups of said arms and hammers, said hammersprojecting only slightly beyond the edges of said disks, and

pointed elements projecting beyond the edges of said disks and beingadapted to grip the sheets presented to said rotorso as to carry theminto the casing.

10. A rotary hammer mill equipped with a hammer-carrying rotor and asectional casing for said rotor having an intake opening on one sideinto which bales of pulp sheets may be progressively fed and havingdischarge openings hammer-carrying rotor and a sectional casing for saidrotor having an intake opening on one side into which bales of pulpsheets may be progressively fed and having discharge openings on itsopposite side, said sectional casing comprising a top brushing plate, aforaminous discharge plate furnishing said discharge openings andarranged adjacent to said brushing plate, ledges projecting inwardlyfrom the side walls of said casing and on which both said plates aresupported, means for clamping said plates in position against saidledges, housing above said top plate and in back of said dischargeplate, means operative outside of said housing for actuating saidclamping means into clamping and non-clamping positions, openingsthrough said housing through which said plates may be removed, andremovable closures for said last-named openings.

WILLIAM 'I'. DOYLE. THOMAS J. STURTEVANT. LAURANCE H. STUR'I'EVANT.

